2020 United States presidential election in South Carolina

The 2020 United States presidential election in South Carolina is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate.[1] South Carolina voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of South Carolina has 9 electoral votes in the Electoral College.[2]

Main article: 2020 United States presidential election

2020 United States presidential election in South Carolina

November 3, 2020
Turnout	%
Nominee Donald Trump Joe Biden Party Republican Democratic Home state Florida Delaware Running mate Mike Pence Kamala Harris
Incumbent President Donald Trump Republican

The Democratic party held its primary on February 29, 2020 and it was won by former Vice President Joe Biden. The Republican primary was canceled and gave Donald Trump the state's 50 delegates.

Primary elections

Canceled Republican primary

Further information: 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries § Cancellation of state caucuses or primaries

On September 7, 2019, the South Carolina Republican Party became one of several state GOP parties to officially cancel their respective primaries and caucuses.[3] Donald Trump's re-election campaign and GOP officials have cited the fact that Republicans canceled several state primaries when George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush sought a second term in 1992 and 2004, respectively; and Democrats scrapped some of their primaries when Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were seeking reelection in 1996 and 2012, respectively.[4][5]

In response to the cancellation, former U.S. Representative Bob Inglis and another South Carolina Republican voter filed a lawsuit against the South Carolina Republican Party on grounds that it denied their right to vote. On December 11, 2019, a state court judge dismissed the lawsuit, writing in his opinion that the law "does not give plaintiffs a legal right to presidential preference primary".[6] Thus at the South Carolina State Republican Convention in May 2020, the state party will formally bind all 50 of its national pledged delegates to Trump.[7]

Democratic primary

Further information: 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary

The South Carolina Democratic primary was held on February 29, 2020.

Popular vote share by county

Map legend

•   Biden—70–80%
•   Biden—60–70%
•   Biden—50–60%
•   Biden—40–50%
•   Biden—30–40%

Popular vote share by congressional district

Map legend

•   Biden—60–70%
•   Biden—50–60%
•   Biden—40–50%
•   Biden—30–40%

Official results show that Joe Biden won the Democratic primary with 48.65% of the vote, with Bernie Sanders coming in second with 19.77%.[8][9][10] Delegate totals are estimates from the Associated Press.[11]

2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary[8]

Candidate	Votes	%	Delegates[lower-alpha 1]
Joe Biden	262,336	48.65	39
Bernie Sanders	106,605	19.77	15
Tom Steyer	61,140	11.34	0
Pete Buttigieg	44,217	8.20	0
Elizabeth Warren	38,120	7.07	0
Amy Klobuchar	16,900	3.13	0
Tulsi Gabbard	6,813	1.26	0
Andrew Yang (withdrawn)	1,069	0.20	0
Michael Bennet (withdrawn)	765	0.14	0
Cory Booker (withdrawn)	658	0.12	0
John Delaney (withdrawn)	352	0.07	0
Deval Patrick (withdrawn)	288	0.05	0
Total	539,263	100%	54

Results by county

Biden won every county.[12] [13]

County	Biden	%	Buttigieg	%	Gabbard	%	Klobuchar	%	Sanders	%	Steyer	%	Warren	%	Others	%	Rejected ballots	Total votes cast	Turnout as % of total registered electors
Abbeville	1,129	57.69	80	4.09	26	1.33	42	2.15	286	14.61	312	15.94	60	3.07	22	1.13	3	1,960	12.54
Aiken	6,769	44.81	1,246	8.25	194	1.28	607	4.02	3,169	20.98	1,988	13.16	1,030	6.82	102	0.67	33	15,138	13.00
Allendale	552	58.29	9	0.95	2	0.21	2	0.21	119	12.57	241	25.45	17	1.80	5	0.53	0	947	16.37
Anderson	5,564	41.83	988	7.43	230	1.73	524	3.94	3,124	23.49	1,808	13.59	984	7.40	80	0.61	16	13,318	11.05
Bamberg	1,099	58.77	26	1.39	4	0.21	19	1.02	277	14.81	387	20.70	43	2.30	15	0.81	6	1,876	19.82
Barnwell	1,068	59.63	32	1.79	13	0.73	26	1.45	274	15.30	308	17.20	49	2.74	21	1.17	2	1,793	13.08
Beaufort	11,275	45.83	3,067	12.47	290	1.18	1,371	5.57	3,749	15.24	3,009	12.23	1,699	6.91	143	0.58	43	24,646	18.81
Berkeley	10,573	49.08	1,793	8.32	383	1.78	527	2.45	4,598	21.34	2,030	9.42	1,495	6.94	143	0.66	31	21,573	16.23
Calhoun	1,118	59.88	47	2.52	25	1.34	34	1.82	288	15.43	302	16.18	42	2.25	11	0.58	5	1,872	17.69
Charleston	28,292	44.30	8,078	12.65	1,013	1.59	2,302	3.60	12,245	19.17	4,734	7.41	6,932	10.85	268	0.42	84	63,948	21.78
Cherokee	1,812	57.14	104	3.28	38	1.20	66	2.08	3	21.22	347	10.94	106	3.34	25	0.79	2	3,173	9.60
Chester	2,033	63.77	102	3.20	23	0.72	58	1.82	633	19.86	223	6.99	88	2.76	28	0.89	6	3,194	15,56
Chesterfield	1,825	64.06	90	3.16	26	0.91	44	1.54	537	18.85	225	7.90	76	2.67	26	0.92	3	2,852	10.93
Clarendon	2,694	68.50	97	2.47	36	0.92	62	1.58	487	12.38	434	11.03	83	2.11	40	1.03	15	3,948	17.14
Colleton	2,318	57.76	153	3.81	64	1.59	73	1.82	679	16.92	526	13.11	174	4.34	26	0.63	5	4,018	16.00
Darlington	4,231	61.11	287	4.15	55	0.79	86	1.24	1,105	15.96	911	13.16	208	3.00	41	0.59	16	6,940	16.03
Dillon	1,485	64.09	39	1.68	8	0.35	38	1.64	362	15.62	319	13.77	39	1.68	27	1.17	9	2,326	12.47
Dorchester	7,657	47.55	1,457	9.05	316	1.96	403	2.50	3,494	21.70	1,509	9.37	1,189	7.38	77	0.48	21	16,123	15.24
Edgefield	1,327	55.87	77	3.24	20	0.84	44	1.85	419	17.64	370	15.58	89	3.75	29	1.21	7	2,382	13.84
Fairfield	2,352	61.09	84	2.18	50	1.30	47	1.22	428	11.12	773	20.08	88	2.29	28	0.73	10	3,860	24.63
Florence	8,676	58.82	569	3.86	83	0.56	221	1.50	2,635	17.86	1,877	12.73	607	4.12	82	0.57	29	14,779	16.76
Georgetown	4,776	52.46	697	7.80	114	1.28	327	3.66	1,574	17.62	1,018	11.39	376	4.21	52	0.59	16	8,950	20.19
Greenville	20,661	38.17	5,688	10.51	830	1.53	2,352	4.35	13,376	24.71	5,774	10.67	5,207	9.62	235	0.43	57	54,180	16.45
Greenwood	2,693	47.88	278	4.94	57	1.01	165	2.93	1,060	18.85	1,091	19.40	241	4.29	39	0.70	7	5,631	13.75
Hampton	1,116	53.09	33	1.57	12	0.57	18	0.86	319	15.18	541	25.74	40	1.90	23	1.10	10	2,112	16.46
Horry	13,281	43.82	2,877	9.49	387	1.28	1,269	4.19	6,757	22.29	3,841	12.67	1,724	5.69	175	0.58	59	30,370	13.02
Jasper	1,794	52.75	189	5.56	42	1.23	110	3.23	543	15.97	573	16.85	122	3.59	28	0.83	5	3,406	16.72
Kershaw	3,577	55.29	361	5.58	67	1.04	144	2.23	1,083	16.74	896	13.85	308	4.76	34	0.54	13	6,483	15.37
Lancaster	4,340	51.48	858	10.18	112	1.33	422	5.01	1,695	20.11	365	4.33	567	6.73	71	0.84	15	8,445	13.43
Laurens	2,413	49.76	204	4.21	73	1.51	120	2.47	1,001	20.64	748	15.43	244	5.03	46	0.95	10	4,859	12.19
Lee	1,876	68.87	49	1.80	18	0.66	11	0.40	332	12.19	364	13.36	53	1.95	21	0.76	7	2,731	23.50
Lexington	9,720	39.87	2,573	10.55	502	2.06	795	3.26	5,758	23.62	2,827	11.60	2,094	8.59	111	0.46	15	24,395	13.00
Marion	2,735	66.87	60	1.47	13	0.32	38	0.93	625	15.28	508	12.42	78	1.91	33	0.81	13	4,103	19.52
Marlboro	1,485	61.44	29	1.20	13	0.54	34	1.41	309	12.78	487	20.15	35	1.45	25	1.04	9	2,426	13.59
McCormick	730	48.18	68	4.49	16	1.06	54	3.56	208	13.73	381	25.15	42	2.77	16	1.06	4	1,519	20.62
Newberry	1,787	55.41	205	6.36	57	1.77	83	2.57	482	14.95	460	14.26	124	3.84	27	0.84	4	3,229	13.66
Oconee	2,181	37.60	560	9.66	81	1.40	403	6.95	1,392	24.00	742	12.79	405	6.98	36	0.61	5	5,805	11.07
Orangeburg	9,089	69.86	238	1.83	71	0.55	72	0.55	1,388	10.67	1,690	12.99	370	2.84	92	0.70	20	13,030	22.91
Pickens	2,513	32.62	761	9.88	163	2.12	375	4.87	2,141	27.79	901	11.70	823	10.68	27	0.35	4	7,708	10.45
Richland	35,869	53.15	4,491	6.65	528	0.78	1,285	1.90	11,347	16.81	8,269	12.25	5,392	7.99	309	0.45	65	67,555	25.71
Saluda	782	54.01	54	3.73	15	1.04	27	1.86	262	18.09	243	16.78	51	3.52	14	0.97	3	1,451	12.52
Spartanburg	9,977	42.31	1,849	7.84	278	1.18	749	3.18	5,870	24.89	2,911	12.34	1,816	7.70	131	0.56	31	23,613	12.45
Sumter	8,375	65.41	406	3.17	74	0.58	122	0.95	1,673	13.07	1,667	13.02	386	3.01	101	0.80	23	12,827	18.34
Union	1,295	57.22	58	2.56	19	0.84	34	1.50	430	19.00	322	14.23	73	3.23	32	1.42	2	2,265	13.72
Williamsburg	3,682	70.08	47	0.89	19	0.36	45	0.86	708	13.48	605	11.52	94	1.79	54	1.04	16	5,270	24.34
York	11,556	43.60	3,110	11.73	338	1.28	1,241	4.68	6,551	24.72	1,242	4.69	2,307	8.70	159	0.60	35	26,539	14.44

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[14]	Likely R	July 23, 2020
Inside Elections[15]	Likely R	July 17, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[16]	Likely R	July 14, 2020
Politico[17]	Safe R	July 6, 2020
RCP[18]	Lean R	August 3, 2020
Niskanen[19]	Safe R	March 24, 2020
CNN[20]	Safe R	August 3, 2020
The Economist[21]	Likely R	August 7, 2020
CBS News[22]	Likely R	August 9, 2020
270towin[23]	Likely R	August 2, 2020
ABC News[24]	Safe R	July 31, 2020
NPR[25]	Likely R	August 3, 2020
NBC News[26]	Likely R	August 6, 2020

Polling

Aggregate polls

Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden
Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Joe Biden	Donald Trump	Other/Undecided [lower-alpha 2]	Margin
FiveThirtyEight	Until August 6, 2020	August 12, 2020	43.3%	49.7%	7.0%	Trump +6.4

Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 3]	Margin of error	Donald Trump (R)	Joe Biden (D)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	Jul 30–Aug 3, 2020	914 (RV)	± 3.2%	47%	42%	4%[lower-alpha 4]	7%
Morning Consult	Jul 24–Aug 2, 2020	741 (LV)	± 4.0%	49%	44%	3%	4%
ALG Research	July 15–20, 2020	591 (LV)	–	50%	45%	1%	4%
Gravis Marketing	July 17, 2020	604 (LV)	± 4.0%	50%	46%	–	–
brilliant corners Research & Strategies/Jaime Harrison	July 13-19, 2020	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	50%	43%	–	–
Civiqs/Daily Kos	May 23–26, 2020	591 (RV)	± 4.5%	52%	42%	5%[lower-alpha 5]	1%
AtlasIntel	Feb 25–28, 2020	1,100 (RV)	± 3.0%	48%	42%	11%	–
East Carolina University	Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020	1,756 (RV)	± 2.7%	52%	40%	–	8%
Emerson College	Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019	755	± 3.5%	52%	48%	–	–

Four-way race

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 3]	Margin of error	Donald Trump (R)	Joe Biden (D)	Jo Jorgensen (L)	Howie Hawkins (G)	Other	Undecided
Change Research	Jun 11–14, 2019	2,312	± 2.0%	54%	38%	3%[lower-alpha 6]	1%[lower-alpha 7]	–	–

Former candidates

Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Bernie Sanders (D) Other Undecided AtlasIntel Feb 25–28, 2020 1,100 (RV) ± 3.0% 48% 42% 9% – East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 52% 40% – 8% Change Research Jun 11–14, 2019 2,312 ± 2.0% 54% 34% 6%[lower-alpha 8] – Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 54% 46% – – Donald Trump vs. Elizabeth Warren Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Elizabeth Warren (D) Undecided AtlasIntel Feb 25–28, 2020 1,100 (RV) ± 3.0% 49% 41% 10% East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 54% 36% 10% Emerson College Feb 28–Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 54% 46% – Donald Trump vs. Michael Bloomberg Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Michael Bloomberg (D) Undecided East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 53% 33% 13% Donald Trump vs. Amy Klobuchar Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Amy Klobuchar (D) Undecided East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 52% 32% 15% Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 56% 44% – Donald Trump vs. Pete Buttigieg Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Pete Buttigieg (D) Undecided AtlasIntel Feb 25–28, 2020 1,100 (RV) ± 3.0% 48% 37% 15% East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 52% 34% 13% Donald Trump vs. Tom Steyer Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Tom Steyer (D) Undecided East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 52% 39% 9% Donald Trump vs. Andrew Yang Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Andrew Yang (D) Undecided East Carolina University Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020 1,756 (RV) ± 2.7% 52% 34% 14% Donald Trump vs. Cory Booker Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Cory Booker (D) Other Undecided Change Research Jun 11–14, 2019 2,312 ± 2.0% 54% 32% 6%[lower-alpha 8] – Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 54% 46% – – Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Kamala Harris (D) Other Undecided Change Research Jun 11–14, 2019 2,312 ± 2.0% 54% 33% 6%[lower-alpha 8] – Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 56% 44% – – Donald Trump vs. Beto O'Rourke Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Beto O'Rourke (D) Undecided Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 56% 44% –

Hypothetical polling

with Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Howard Schultz Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Bernie Sanders (D) Howard Schultz (I) Undecided Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 51% 42% 7% – with Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, and Howard Schultz Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Elizabeth Warren (D) Howard Schultz (I) Undecided Emerson College Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019 755 ± 3.5% 53% 41% 7% – with Donald Trump, generic Democrat, and Howard Schultz Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 3] Margin of error Donald Trump (R) Generic Democrat Howard Schultz (I) Undecided WPA Intelligence (R)[upper-alpha 1] Mar 11–13, 2019 500 ± 4.4% 46% 34% 3% 17%

See also

• 2020 United States presidential election
• 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
• 2020 United States elections

Notes

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by Conservatives for Clean Energy

Additional candidates

1. This figure is an estimate from the Associated Press.[11]
2. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
3. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
4. "Someone else" 2%; "Would not vote" 2%
5. "Someone else" with 5%
6. Generic Libertarian
7. Generic Green
8. Generic Libertarian with 4%; generic Green with 2%

References

1. Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?". The Independent. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
2. "Distribution of Electoral Votes". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
3. Kinnard, Meg (September 7, 2019). "Nevada, SC, Kansas GOP drop presidential nomination votes". AP NEWS.
4. Karni, Annie (September 6, 2019). "GOP plans to drop presidential primaries in 4 states to impede Trump challengers". Boston Globe. MSN. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
5. Steakin, Will; Karson, Kendall (September 6, 2019). "GOP considers canceling at least 3 GOP primaries and caucuses, Trump challengers outraged". ABC News. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
6. Neidig, Harper (December 11, 2019). "Judge throws out lawsuit against South Carolina GOP for canceling 2020 primary". The Hill.
7. "South Carolina Republican Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
8. "2020 Democratic Presidential Preference Primary Election Night Reporting: Official Results". SCVotes.org. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
9. Peoples, Steve; Kinnard, Meg; Barrow, Bill. "Biden wins South Carolina, hopes for Super Tuesday momentum". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
10. "South Carolina 2020 Primary: Live Results". The New York Times. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
11. "The Latest: Sanders says he is stronger candidate than Biden". AP NEWS. March 1, 2020.
12. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-29/polls-close-in-south-carolina-as-biden-hopes-for-a-jumpstart
13. https://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/100517/Web02-state.242137/#/access-to-races
14. "2020 POTUS Race ratings" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
15. "POTUS Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
16. "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President". crystalball.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
17. "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
18. "Battle for White House". RCP. April 19, 2019.
19. 2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions, Niskanen Center, March 24, 2020, retrieved: April 19, 2020
20. David Chalian; Terence Burlij. "Road to 270: CNN's debut Electoral College map for 2020". CNN. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
21. "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
22. "2020 Election Battleground Tracker". CBS News. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
23. "2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map". 270 to Win.
24. "ABC News Race Ratings". CBS News. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
25. "2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
26. "Biden dominates the electoral map, but here's how the race could tighten". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-08-06.